


The Story of Us

by blueberryboba



Category: Love Island (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:53:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26078269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueberryboba/pseuds/blueberryboba
Summary: During Season 3 when Tim makes an appearance to DJ, he reveals to the islanders that him and Jen broke up. He adds that even though it took him a long time to see it, he's now happy with the love of his life. What does that mean and how did we get to that point?-Tim stans, rise up! A semi-canonical fic where the love of his life that Tim mentions is Season 1's MC. I want to explore how that story would develop as well as give a slightly alternate ending to the first season where our badass MC gets the more epic final recoupling she deserves. Will be fleshing out some friendships with the other characters as well.
Relationships: Jen/Tim (Love Island), Levi/Main Character (Love Island), Tim & Main Character (Love Island), Tim/Main Character (Love Island)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 31





	The Story of Us

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the click! ♥
> 
> I noticed there are a lot of Tim fans on the Fusebox Games subreddit but a lack of Tim/MC fanfics, and with the news from Tim in season three about getting with the love of his life that melted my heart, I decided I'd give it a go. This chapter won't feature Tim much but will instead flesh out the MC and her final recoupling a bit first. Don't worry, we'll get to Tim angst and fluff eventually! 
> 
> This is my first ever fanfic, so I'd love to hear feedback. I hope you enjoy.

She sat serenely in the studio chair as her hair and face were prodded and poked at, used to it with her long days working as a runway model where she was meant to be moulded to meet the designer’s vision. She found the light chatter amongst the stylists soothing, too tired to add much to the conversation herself, flashing a small smile every now and then to remain polite. It was way too bloody early for her, but everything Love Island related was usually filmed early like this so the editors could get it out as fast as possible with how tight of a schedule the show was run on.

The finale of the second season was coming up soon and the producers invited the winners from season one to come film a video where they’d react to clips from season two to help build up the hype. She hadn’t been able to follow along every night this summer herself with how busy she had been ever since winning, so she was looking forward to catching up and seeing what was going on with the current contestants. Hopefully their summer of romance was fairing better than hers had the previous year.

She had been sleepily settling into the chair when she heard the door creak open and a smooth voice ask, “Am I interrupting?”  
  
Her eyes immediately shot open as she recognized the voice. She quickly sat up from her half-asleep state, feeling the lipliner veer off its intended course and out onto her cheek instead.  
  
“Jake!” she exclaimed excitedly. She threw a sheepish, apologetic smile to her makeup artist before getting up and hurrying over to wrap her arms tightly around her fellow winner.  
  
“Marina,” he said, smiling and returning the hug. “It’s been too long.”  
  
“It really has,” she agreed, sighing as she melted deeper into his chest. He was looking handsome in a black leather jacket and still had that same earthy, pine smell to him that always calmed her senses.

“Please, please tell me you brought some of that delicious Chef Jake home cooking for me.”  
  
He chuckled as he released her and held out a steaming cup towards her. “Not right now, but I did bring you some coffee knowing what a grump you can be in the mornings. I’d be more than happy to whip up something for you later today, though. I have some new recipes I was thinking of adding to the restaurant’s menu and have been meaning to try them out.”  
  
“Oh my god yes, I’d love that,” she agreed happily as she took the coffee from him and wrapped her hands around it to warm them up. “You are truly an angel sent from above. Forever coming to the rescue when I need it, huh?”

Jake gave her a small smile. “It would seem so, wouldn’t it? Anything for a lovely lady such as yourself.”  
  
She rolled her eyes and laughed, shoving him lightly against the shoulder and steering him back towards the door. “Still as melty as ever I see. We’ll catch up more later, get going now so I can finish getting prepped. We can’t all be as naturally beautiful as you.”

“Miss you too!” he retorted as she shut the door. She smiled to herself before turning around and getting back into the chair. 

Although Jake remained the most private out of everyone from their cast since last summer ended and didn’t use social media all that much, he had definitely come out of his shell somewhat since then. And she had missed him. He had been a stoic but sweet and supportive pillar of strength for her throughout their season and afterwards. They FaceTimed often enough and Marina sent him postcards with handwritten letters on the back whenever she travelled since she knew he was a sucker for those, but she would have loved it if they could meet up in person more than their schedules actually allowed.

As the makeup artist was wiping off the stray lip liner, which Marina apologized for again, she reflected back on her own season and her joke about Jake being her angel. The whole supposed “summer of love” had been quite the shitshow for her. She spent weeks getting strung along by Levi before she finally realized she couldn’t take it any longer.

-

Marina wasn’t a doormat. She was a tough Londoner, raised by her single working mum in one of the lesser parts of the city. As a brazen girl with a killer sense of street style and a love for high fashion, she fought her way up in the cutthroat world of modelling. She had won that best dressed vote for a reason. And she had never been afraid to stand up to Jasper, Allegra, Erikah or whoever it was acting aggy that she felt needed an attitude check. She was always prepared with a sharp joke or witty retort at the ready. 

Marina knew her self-worth and that she deserved to be treated better than the way Levi had handled things. Looking back, she was embarrassed she had let his poor treatment of her go on as long as it did. She should have strayed far away from him as soon as he started hurting her with his indecisiveness between her and Jen. That in itself should have been her major warning flag. But for some reason Marina kept giving him more chances, sticking with him even after the humiliating debacle that was Cherrygate, and unfortunately shedding tears over him more than once. Apparently the producers decided that wasn’t enough for her now fragile ego and heart to take as Levi’s ex who was clearly still hung up on him entered the villa in a tight little red number looking for trouble.

There was something about Levi that had entranced her. There was no denying he was gorgeous, and he always had an attractive air of mystery lingering about him with his quiet yet suave ways. It left her yearning for more, looking to explore and unlock all that was him. He made her feel so special with their night under the Spanish summer stars on the terrace and his constant whisperings in her ear of how beautiful she was and how much he wanted her. She had truly believed it, and she loved the endearing way his face would become flushed and his words jumbled whenever she turned the tables and was the one to whisper charming words to him instead.

But Levi’s actions consistently contradicted his words. What finally broke her was how he acted towards Lucy once she had joined the villa. Marina wasn’t blind, she saw the way Levi eyed Lucy’s ample figure and casually flirted with her. When Marina called him out on it, he responded by gaslighting her, telling her she was imagining it and overreacting and that he only had eyes for her and would obviously pick her at the final recoupling.

After that exchange she felt sick to her stomach. Needing somewhere quiet where she could be alone, she found her way to the beach hut in a daze, feeling as if she had just been woken up from a fever dream with icy cold water dumped all over her and creeping down the back of her neck. 

Even if Levi truly didn’t care for Lucy any longer and was planning on picking Marina once again, he was stringing Lucy along just like he had Jen rather than being upfront and honest. It really hit her then that she knew she would never be able to fully trust him. She was humiliated, angry, sad, disappointed, heartbroken; a whirlwind of negative emotions overwhelmed her to the point where she was nauseated as she slid further and further into the chair while she mulled her chaotic thoughts over in silence.

With pressure building up behind her eyes and pounding in her head, she began venting to the camera in front of her in an attempt to alleviate it. She recounted her journey and reflected on how Levi’s actions had made her feel throughout the summer. She had started questioning and doubting herself rather than him. What the hell had she been doing this whole time? Had she let her infatuation blind her? She liked Levi a lot but he kept hurting her and she kept taking it over and over again. She knew logically that wasn’t okay. If a guy had been doing this to any of her friends she would have been enraged and have told them to quickly pie him off without a second thought.

She must have looked so stupid to the public these past few weeks. The frustration she felt threatened to smother as her throat began to burn and tears pricked at her eyes. She realized she hadn’t felt truly happy in days. She had entered the villa so confident and excited, bursting with life, but recently she instead felt like she was underwater at all times, where everything was murky and dim. She had become so numb. 

She knew what she had to do. She needed to pick up the shattered pieces that made her Marina. She didn’t care about the competition and if she won or not. She instead reminded herself of who she was, that she loved herself and was worthy of love, and she was embarrassed and disappointed in herself for putting up with Levi’s shit for this long. It was all so toxic. Fuck.

It was time to rip off the bandaid. He had trampled on her heart long enough. She left the beach hut a woman on a mission. 

She wiped the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes and started on her warpath through the villa until she found Jake, conveniently already located in a secluded spot, although that wasn’t really a surprise when it came to him she supposed.

His eyes widened in concern as he saw her strut over with irate red eyes. “Marina, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”  
  
Oh Jake, sweet, sweet Jake. She sat down next to him and took a deep breath. “Couple up with me tonight.”  
  
His eyes widened even further to the point where she was concerned they’d bulge right out of his head. “Wh-what?” he stuttered.  
  
“You heard me. Let’s couple up tonight.”  
  
“I... wha- why?” he managed to get out.  
  
“Hear me out,” she responded as she grabbed his hands in her own. “Jake, we have been here for each other this whole summer. You are one of the best mates I’ve ever had and you constantly warned me what a prat Levi was being and that I deserved better. For some reason, I was too stupid to see that and let him humiliatingly string me along for weeks. Well fuck him. You were right. I don’t deserve that. No girl does. You are one of best people I have ever met, truly. You always uplifted me whenever I needed it and I can only hope I did the same for you. The others who think you’re too quiet or whatever are shallow and stupid. You have more depth to you than any of the other guys here and I’ll defend your questionable horticulture poetry ‘til the day I die. This might be a selfish request as you’d have to sacrifice any possible romantic couples to be in a friendship one with me, but I loved the fun and easygoing time we had when we were last coupled up despite agreeing there was no spark between us. I know in my heart there is no one here I’d rather end this journey with.”

Marina finished her word vomit slightly out of breath and waited for a response. Her face heated up as the silence stretched on and she started to shy away as Jake just continued to stare at her with his mouth open.

Suddenly he started laughing. And laughing and laughing and laughing, more so than she had ever heard from him before. She paused before she started chuckling too, which eventually turned into her own uncontrollable laughs echoing alongside his.  
  
“Sorry, that was a bit rash, wasn’t it…?” she said, rubbing her reddened face as their laughs started to die down into giggles.

Jake smiled his gorgeous grin at her. “You’re a madwoman, but you know I love you anyway. I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses, I only wish you’d have done so earlier to spare yourself the pain. I don’t have a romantic connection with any of these ladies anyway, so… yes.”  
  
“Yes?” she asked, surprised.  
  
“Yes,” he confirmed.  
  
“Yes?!? Yes!” she shouted happily, laughing again as she threw her arms around him and he returned the embrace.

“Thank you,” Marina said to him quietly.

“No need to,” he whispered back.

They spent a few minutes just basking in the shade the tall palms around them provided while appreciating the deep bond they had formed over the summer. Marina took solace in Jake’s calming presence and grabbed his hand.  
  
He turned to look at her. “Let’s do this,” he said.  
  
“Let’s,” she replied with a devilish grin.  
  
They may not be leaving the villa with the loves of their lives, but they made some amazing friends and memories over the summer, and that alone was worth it no matter what was to come next.

-

Marina finished putting on the final touches of her makeup for the evening, making a popping sound as she applied the shiny gloss that made her lips look extra juicy. She bent over to strap on the highest pair of heels she owned and stood up amongst the absolute chaos currently known as the girls dressing room. She walked towards the mirrored closet doors to check herself over. 

Her eye makeup was smoked out and stood out against her pale skin while her dark hair was pin straight, falling down her back like a smooth, glossy curtain. She was wearing a shimmery gold mini dress that had deep cutouts on the sides as well down her chest. She ran her hands up and down her hips. It fit her body perfectly.

Oh yes, she was feeling herself. It had been too long since she felt this empowered and that thought made her choke up a little.

A hand suddenly smacked her on the bum and she raised her pale blue eyes to meet Talia’s intense turquoise ones in the mirror, who was now standing next to her. “Looking delicious enough to eat, babes. You’re going to knock them all dead,” she told her.

Marina gave her a genuine smile and a side hug. “Thanks Tals. Looking absolute flames yourself.” 

Talia was the only girl Marina had grown very close to in the villa. She was the most down to earth, staying out of the drama and far away from the negative energy some of the others seemed to thrive off of. Marina looked back on their time together in the villa fondly, from their days spent lounging about in the sun sharing with each other their lives back home to constantly getting in trouble with the producers for breaking out into songs that could not be aired due to copyright as they bonded over their shared love of music. They had fun together and tried to avoid the drama the other girls stirred up as best as they could, although it often seemed to find Marina anyway, to which she would do her best to quickly shut it down as Talia would stand by and snicker at her friend’s no bullshit attitude. 

“Levi is one lucky man,” Talia said to her.

Marina hummed in a noncommittal manner. 

“You know Tals,” she said quietly so that only the two of them could hear, “I think there might be some upsets at tonight’s recoupling.”

Talia raised her eyebrow at that in the mirror, to which Marina just responded with a coy smile.

Suddenly Talia’s phone rang out but the other girls didn’t seem to hear it as they continued to loudly chatter and run around getting ready. The two of them looked down as Talia unlocked her phone to see a text announcing that it would actually be a girl’s choice recoupling for the final one.  
  
Marina smirked. So the producers saw her exchange with Jake and wanted drama, huh? Well drama they shall receive.  
  
Talia bumped her hip against Marina’s. “You know what, I think you’re right, babes. There will be some surprises in store tonight,” she said with her own mischievous smile, before turning around and screaming out that she got a text.

-

The girls were sat around the firepit with the boys neatly lined up in front of them. Marina’s phone rang out informing her she would be the first to pick.

She stood and brought her hands together in front of her stomach. The fire cast an ethereal light about her and made her golden dress appear to glow. The air felt electric tonight.

She looked over to Levi who was drinking in the sight of her exposed skin and he gave her a confident grin. Her eyes then shifted over to Jake who was giving her a meaningful look.

She couldn’t help herself as she automatically sought out Tim as well, who she was surprised to see watching her intensely with a look on his face that she couldn’t read. She felt herself flush slightly and forced herself to drag her eyes away and remember what it was she was here to do.

She held her head up high and opened her mouth to speak. “I want to couple up with this boy because not only is he proper fit, but he has a gorgeous soul, too. Some others may judge him because he’s more reserved and quiet, but that’s okay with me, because when he does speak, he always has thoughtful and beautiful things to say.”

Levi bashfully rubbed the back of his head and smiled at that. Marina barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. 

“He’s always uplifted me and been there for me and any girl would be lucky to have him in her life. He appreciates me for who I am and has never made me doubt myself and I would be happy to finish my journey here with him.” 

Marina looked at every single one of the girls around her as she continued, “We _all_ deserve a guy who respects us and puts us first, who knows our worth.” Jen shot her a sweet smile and Talia reached over to give her arm a quick squeeze.

She turned back to the boys and was careful to keep her voice from trembling at the next words she spoke. “A guy who doesn’t string girls along, who doesn’t make them feel like shit, and who most definitely does not gaslight them.” 

Confusion finally started to creep its way onto Levi’s face.  
  
“So, the amazing man I’d like to couple up with is… Jake.”

There were multiple gasps and almost all of the islanders’ jaws dropped open.

“What the _fuck_?” Levi said in a mixture of shock and anger. 

It became so quiet you could hear the cameramen shifting around to get better angles on everyone’s faces at the surprising news. Marina's palms began sweating.

Talia and Tim were the first to burst out into wild cheers before many of the others joined in shouting or clapping. Jake walked over with a big smile on his face and wrapped Marina in a tight hug. She couldn’t resist grinning and hugging him back despite the slight shaking in her arms.  
  
Levi continued to shake his head in disbelief and angry muttering. He was fuming. He locked his sights on Jake and started to stomp over when Tim grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back. He narrowed his eyes at Levi. 

“Not now, _mate_ ,” Tim said with an edge in his voice. 

“Don’t touch me, _mate_ ,” Levi snarled back, mocking him.

Marina made eye contact with Levi. She saw the hurt in his eyes amongst all of the anger. “We’ll have words about this later,” she told him.

Once her and Jake took their seats next to each other and the excitement died down a bit, a notification from Talia’s phone informed the islanders she was next.

Marina admired her friend as she stood up. With Talia’s beautiful curls flowing wildly and the white dress draped against her sun kissed skin, she reminded Marina of a greek goddess who stepped straight out of the storybooks of legends. 

Her musical voice rang out clearly in the hot Spanish night. “I’d like to couple up with this boy because he’s gorgeous and has shown me nothing but a good time since he came in here. He gets along well with everyone and knows how to have fun, but can be serious when he needs to. He’s supportive and kind and deserves better than a partner who’s clearly using him while she blatantly grafts on someone else. She doesn’t see _his_ worth.”

Marina sat up as she saw Lucy freeze in her peripheral vision. Was Talia going to…?  
  
She continued, “So the boy I’d like to couple up with is… Rohan.”

Rohan looked surprised at first before his face split into a big grin. Jake and Marina started cheering while the other islanders began clapping. They would make a good couple.

Marina couldn’t help but double over, covering her face while she laughed freely as Rohan sat down next to Talia and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Talia gave him a saucy smile before sending a wink over to Marina and Jake. Tonight was going all sorts of crazy, but Marina felt lighter and happier than she had in days. 

Another phone beeped and Jen was up next. She gave a short but sweet speech that ended in her choosing Tim. All of the islanders clapped as Tim came over and they shared a kiss that left Jen blushing and giggling.  
  
Marina clapped along. Despite the rocky start she and Jen got off to, they ended up becoming friends as Jen was too sweet for anyone to ever be able to hold a grudge against her. And Tim… he was one of the people Marina had grown closest to in the villa. Her friends were happy, and so she was happy for them. 

There was a tightness to her smile, though.  
  
The rest of the recoupling wasn’t as memorable. Erikah chose Reese, Cherry chose Mason, and Lucy, unsurprisingly, chose Levi. To his credit though, Marina noticed he truly did not seem to look happy about it at all.

Once the recoupling ended and everyone got up and started to disperse, Talia quickly ran over to Jake and Marina and leaped onto the two of them, squeezing them both in a hug. 

“God,” she groaned, “have I ever told you guys how much I love you? That was fucking epic. The look on Levi’s face was priceless.” 

Rohan walked over and joined in on the group hug. “Good thing it was all caught on camera so we can watch it back again later,” he said with a cheeky smile. “I’m happy for you guys.”

“Us?” Marina questioned through her laughter as they all disentangled. “What about you two? That was totally badass!”

Rohan grinned. “What Talia said was… really touching. I’m lucky to be with a girl as stunning as her,” he said as he moved to grab her hand.  
  
“And don’t I know it, babes?” she responded as she poked her tongue out at him.

The group’s joyful moment was disrupted as their attention was redirected to raised voices coming from Levi and Lucy. Marina watched as he left and stalked towards the villa and her good mood immediately soured.  
  
“I’m going to have to go talk to him now, aren’t I?”  
  
Jake gave her a shoulder a squeeze. “Yeah, probably. After everything that’s happened tonight though, you got this,” he told her comfortingly.

She sighed and nodded her head before she turned and started to walk across the astroturf lawn, her stomach doing somersaults the whole way.

“Just give a shout if you need me to come kick him in the arse!” Talia called after her. 

A small smile wormed its way back onto Marina’s face.

**Author's Note:**

> The dress I imagined Marina in for the final recoupling is the shimmery one with deep cutouts and no sleeves from season two of the game. Definitely one of my favorite outfits from that season. 
> 
> Anyway, I always thought the MC deserved a more badass recoupling than she got if she chose to be with someone else after being dragged through the mud and treated pretty poorly by Levi all season. Since this is a Tim/MC story (eventually), I made Marina's final couple a friendship one. In this storyline Jake never developed romantic feelings for her but instead they have formed a strong friendship. 
> 
> I loved Amber from season five of the UK show and Marina definitely gives me some Amber vibes here. 
> 
> In chapter two we'll be jumping back to present day.
> 
> Again, this is my first ever fanfic, so I'd love to hear some feedback! Thanks ♥


End file.
